JP2021190948A - Communication control device, communication control program, and communication control system - Google Patents

Abstract

To inhibit a terminal connectable to wireless communication lines provided by the respective communication operators from keeping connecting to a faulty wireless communication line.SOLUTION: An orchestrator 20 acquires, from a CN 10 that controls a network slice allocated as a destination of connection for a UE 2 used by the user among wireless communication lines provided by the respective communication operators, communication information representing connection information of the network slice and controls network slices to be switched so that another network slice different from the current network slice, of which degraded communication quality is reported by the communication information, is allocated to the UE 2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a communication control device, a communication control program, and a communication control system.

Patent Document 1 describes a network node for transferring data, which is connected to a management device that manages the network node, and when a predetermined event is detected, a logic for notifying the management device of the detection of the event. A network node that identifies the virtual network of the traffic of data to be transferred, identifies the logic defined for the identified virtual network, and executes the identified logic for the traffic of the virtual network. Is disclosed.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2017-46129

In the 5th generation mobile communication system called "5G", it is considered that a radio access network other than NG-RAN (Next Generation-Radio Access Network) can be connected, for example, WiFi (registered trademark). Therefore, in a terminal using 5G, a wireless communication line to be used may be selected from a plurality of wireless communication lines having different architectures such as 3GPP and non-3GPP according to the application and communication environment for communication.

For terminals that can connect to such multiple wireless communication lines, if the user determines that the line quality is lower than the specified line quality by referring to, for example, the jitter of the wireless communication line being connected, another You may perform an operation to switch to a wireless communication line.

However, the information that can be used by the user to determine the switching of the wireless communication line is only the information that indirectly represents the status of the wireless communication line acquired by the terminal through the communication. Therefore, the user cannot determine whether the wireless equipment of the carrier that provides the wireless communication line actually has a failure, and continues to connect the terminal to the wireless communication line where the failure has occurred. There is.

In the present invention, a failure occurs as compared with a case where a terminal connectable to a wireless communication line provided by each communication carrier switches a connection destination wireless communication line based only on information acquired by the terminal. It is an object of the present invention to provide a communication control device, a communication control program, and a communication control system capable of suppressing continuous connection to an existing wireless communication line.

The communication control device according to the first aspect includes a processor, and the processor uses a first network slice assigned as a connection destination of a terminal used by a user among wireless communication lines provided by each communication carrier. When communication information representing the connection information of the first network slice is acquired from the control device to be controlled and the communication information notifies the deterioration of the communication quality of the first network slice, it is different from the first network slice. Control is performed to switch the network slice so that the second network slice is assigned to the terminal.

The communication control device according to the second aspect is the communication control device according to the first aspect, in which the processor switches the profile of the terminal in cooperation with a subscription manager that manages the profile of eSIM assigned to the terminal. , Controls to switch the network slice assigned to the terminal.

The communication control device according to the third aspect, in the communication control device according to the second aspect, the processor refers to management information for managing information about each network slice assigned to the terminal, and preferentially gives priority to the terminal. If the priority network slice to be assigned is set in the management information and the occurrence of a communication failure with the terminal in the priority network slice is not notified, the network slice assigned to the terminal becomes the priority network slice. , Switch the profile of the terminal in cooperation with the subscription manager.

In the communication control device according to the third aspect, the communication control device according to the fourth aspect is the first network based on the communication information when the priority network slice for the terminal is not set in the management information. Even when the restoration of the communication quality of the slice is notified, the current allocation of the network slice to the terminal is maintained.

The communication control device according to the fifth aspect is the communication control device according to the second aspect, and when the processor is notified by the communication information that the communication quality of the first network slice is restored, the terminal is again notified of the restoration of the communication quality. The profile of the terminal is switched in cooperation with the subscription manager so that one network slice is assigned.

The communication control device according to the sixth aspect is the communication control device according to any one of the second to fifth aspects. The communication form of the instruction message is specified so that the terminal is notified with priority.

The communication control device according to the seventh aspect is the communication control device according to the sixth aspect, in which the processor designates a short message service or HTTPS as the communication form of the instruction message.

The communication control device according to the eighth aspect is the communication control device according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, wherein the processor is a communication carrier whose first network slice and the second network slice are different. Control is performed to switch the network slice assigned to the terminal so as to be a network slice.

The communication control device according to the ninth aspect is the communication control device according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, wherein the processor is a communication carrier having the same first network slice and the second network slice. Control is performed to switch the network slice assigned to the terminal so as to be a network slice.

The communication control device according to the tenth aspect is the communication control device according to the eighth aspect or the ninth aspect, wherein the processor uses the identification information which identifies each network slice given to each communication carrier. Specify the network slice to connect to the terminal.

The communication control program according to the eleventh aspect is from a control device that controls a first network slice assigned to a computer as a connection destination of a terminal used by a user among wireless communication lines provided by each communication carrier. , When communication information representing the connection information of the first network slice is acquired and the communication information notifies that the communication quality of the first network slice is deteriorated, a second network slice different from the first network slice is used. This is a program for executing control for switching network slices so as to be assigned to the terminal.

The communication control system according to the twelfth aspect is the control device for controlling the first network slice assigned as the connection destination of the terminal used by the user among the wireless communication lines provided by each communication carrier. When communication information representing the connection information of one network slice is acquired and the communication information notifies the terminal that the communication quality of the first network slice has deteriorated, a second network slice different from the first network slice is sent to the terminal. An instruction message instructing the switching of the network slice from the communication control device is sent from the communication control device through the communication control device that controls switching the network slice so that it can be assigned and the wide area line that controls the communication based on the policy defined by the software. The WAN control device that switches the profile of the terminal specified as the switching target in the instruction message according to the control of the received subscription manager is included.

According to the first aspect, the eleventh aspect, and the twelfth aspect, the terminal that can connect to the wireless communication line provided by each telecommunications carrier connects to the wireless communication line based only on the information acquired by the terminal. Compared with the case of switching, it has an effect that it is possible to suppress the continuous connection to the wireless communication line where the failure has occurred.

According to the second aspect, there is an effect that the network slice to which the terminal is connected can be switched by remote control.

According to the third aspect, there is an effect that the connection destination of the terminal can be switched to the priority network slice in preference to the other network slices.

According to the fourth aspect, even if there is no problem in the communication quality of the network slice being connected, it is possible to suppress the forced switching of the network.

According to the fifth aspect, there is an effect that the original network slice that was connected before switching the network slice can be used.

According to the sixth aspect, there is an effect that the network slice can be preferentially switched even when the traffic is increased to the extent that the message is delayed.

According to the seventh aspect, there is an effect that the instruction message is notified to the terminal earlier than the case where the instruction message instructing the terminal to switch the network slice is transmitted to the terminal by using a communication form other than the short message service. Have.

According to the eighth aspect, there is an effect that the network slice connected to the terminal can be switched between different communication carriers.

According to the ninth aspect, there is an effect that the network slice connected to the terminal can be limited to the network slice provided by the same telecommunications carrier.

According to the tenth aspect, there is an effect that the wireless communication line connected to the terminal can be specified in units of network slices.

It is a figure which shows the system configuration example of a communication control system. It is a figure which shows an example of the management information table. It is a figure which shows the configuration example of a 5G network. It is a figure which shows the example of the composition of the main part of the electric system in an orchestrator. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the switching process of the network slice which is executed when the failure occurs in the network slice assigned to a UE. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the network slice switching process which is executed when the failure of the original network slice assigned to a UE is recovered.

Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The same components and the same processing are given the same reference numerals throughout the drawings, and duplicate description will be omitted.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration example of the communication control system 1 according to the present embodiment. The communication control system 1 is an external network different from the CN (Core Network) 10 of the 5th generation mobile communication system (hereinafter referred to as "5G system") and the network provided by the 5G system (hereinafter referred to as "5G network"). An orchestrator 20 connected to the CN10 via a data network (for example, the Internet), an SSM (Subscription Manager) 30 connected to the orchestrator 20 via an external data network, and an external data network. It includes SDWAN (Software Defined WAN) 40 which is an example of a wide area line connected to the orchestrator 20, SSM30, and CN10 via the orchestrator 20, SSM30, and CN10.

The CN10 is a network including a control device responsible for communication control in a 5G system, and is composed of equipment used for providing 5G services such as various exchanges and subscriber information management devices. The terminal used by the user (hereinafter referred to as “UE2”) and the CN10 are connected by a wireless communication line provided by the 5G system, and the CN10 provides the UE2 with a 5G service.

The CN10 is constructed for each telecommunications carrier that provides the 5G service, and in the example of the communication control system 1 shown in FIG. 1, three telecommunications carriers A, carrier B, and carrier C each construct the CN10. .. An eUICC (Embedded Universal Integrated Circuit Card) compatible with eSIM (Embedded Subscriber Identity Module) is pre-installed in UE2, and by writing the profile of the contracted carrier in eUICC, the profile is written in eUICC in UE2. However, it will be possible to use the 5G service provided by the telecommunications carrier.

The profile written to the eUICC includes line information necessary for connecting to the 5G network, such as MSISDN (Mobile Station International Subscriber Directory Number) assigned to the UE 2 and access point information to which the UE 2 is connected. MSISDN is a mobile phone number assigned to UE2. It is assumed that the user of UE2 has a contract for using the 5G service with at least one carrier, but only one 5G network can be connected at the same time, and UE2 communicates corresponding to the profile written in eUICC. It is connected to the 5G network provided by the operator. Carriers are also called "carriers." The profile written in eUICC is also called an eSIM profile.

Each CN10 includes an external linkage unit 12, which provides various information about the 5G system to an external device such as an orchestrator 20 connected to an external data network different from the 5G network. Functions as an interface.

The orchestrator 20 is a communication control device that controls switching of the wireless communication line used by the UE 2, and includes each functional unit of the monitoring API cooperation unit 22, the SDWAN management unit 24, and the SSM cooperation unit 26, and the management information table 28. include.

The monitoring API linkage unit 22 acquires the communication information of the wireless communication line used by the UE 2 through the API (Application Programming Interface) prepared in advance. Specifically, when the MSISDN of the UE 2 is specified in the API prepared for the monitoring API linkage unit 22 to acquire the communication information, the communication information of the wireless communication line used by the UE 2 associated with the specified MSISDN is obtained. Be done.

The communication information includes the carrier identification information for identifying the carrier used by the UE 2, the network slice identification information for identifying the wireless communication line used by the UE 2, and the network slice identification information represented by the UE 2. The allocation status between the network slice and the UE 2, which is an example of the allocated wireless communication line, is included.

A network slice is a 5G network between UE2 and CN10 that virtually divides resources such as the processing capacity of equipment used to provide 5G services such as servers and routers and network bandwidth, and combines the divided virtual resources. It is a technology to build a virtual network (slice) in.

When the network slice is not assigned to the UE 2, it means that the UE 2 and the CN10 are disconnected. Therefore, the allocation status between the UE 2 and the network slice is used as the connection information indicating the connection status between the UE 2 and the CN10.

In the connection information, the allocation between UE2 and the network slice is released for some reason, and "Loss of connectivity" indicating that data transfer between UE2 and CN10 cannot be performed, or the allocation is temporarily released. A network slice is assigned to the UE 2 again, and "UE reachability" indicating a state in which data transfer between the UE 2 and the CN 10 is possible is included. The orchestrator 20 recognizes that some failure has occurred in the network slice assigned to the UE 2 when "Loss of connectivity" is notified by the communication information, and occurs in the network slice when "UE reachability" is notified. Recognize that the failed failure has been restored. The presence or absence of a failure in the network slice assigned to the UE 2 is an example of an attribute representing the communication quality of the network slice.

The monitoring API cooperation unit 22 notifies the SDWAN management unit 24 of the acquired network slice status.

The SDWAN management unit 24 specifies the UE 2 to be monitored for the network slice to the monitoring API cooperation unit 22, and also assigns the network slice to the UE 2 according to the network slice allocation status received from the monitoring API cooperation unit 22. Make a switch.

When the SDWAN management unit 24 specifies the UE 2 to be monitored by the network slice and switches the network slice, the SDWAN management unit 24 refers to the management information table 28 that stores the management information regarding the UE 2 and the network slice.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the management information table 28. The management information table 28 includes a UE column, a contract line column, a backup presence / absence column, and a default line column.

In the UE column, identification information for uniquely identifying the UE 2 managed by the orchestrator 20, such as "UE-1", "UE-2", ..., Is set. As the identification information for uniquely identifying the UE 2, for example, the MSISDN of the UE 2 is used, but the serial number (IMEI) of the UE 2 may be used. When the identification information other than MSISDN is set in the UE column of the management information table 28, the orchestrator 20 separately has the correspondence information such that MSISDN can be obtained from the identification information of the UE 2.

In the contract line column, line information related to all 5G services available in UE2 is set. Therefore, in the case of the UE 2 that can be connected to each 5G network provided by a plurality of carriers, the line information of the line contracted with each carrier is set in the contracted line column. Specifically, in addition to the carrier identification information of the carrier that can be used by the UE 2, line information including the network slice identification information assigned to the UE 2 in the carrier is set in the contract line column.

Network slice identification information, which is an example of identification information for identifying the network slice for each telecommunications carrier, is assigned to the network slice assigned to the UE 2. Therefore, the orchestrator 20 specifies the network slice using the network slice identification information.

In the backup presence / absence column, backup information indicating whether or not there is another network slice (backup line) that can be assigned when a failure occurs in the network slice assigned to the UE 2 is set. If "Yes" is set in the backup presence / absence column, it means that there are other network slices that can be assigned, and if "No" is set, it can be assigned to other than the network slice in which the failure occurred. Indicates that there is no network slice.

Among the network slices that can be assigned to the UE 2, the line information of the network slice that is preferentially assigned to the UE 2 is set in the default line column. Of the network slices that can be assigned to UE2, the line information of any network slice may be set in the default line field, but for example, the network slice with the lowest communication cost and the usable data capacity are set to unlimited. The network slice line information that is most useful to the user, such as the network slice, is set in the default line field.

Hereinafter, the network slice represented by the line information set in the default line column of the management information table 28 will be referred to as a “priority network slice”. The preferred network slice is specified by the user of each UE2. The management information table 28 does not necessarily have to be stored in the orchestrator 20, and may be stored in an external device that can be referenced from the orchestrator 20.

When switching the network slice to be assigned to the UE 2 due to the occurrence and recovery of a failure in the network slice, the SDWAN management unit 24 refers to the management information table 28 and selects the network slice to be switched to. The SDWAN management unit 24 notifies the SSM cooperation unit 26 of the line information of the MSISDN of the UE 2 to be switched and the network slice to be switched to.

For convenience of explanation, the network slice assigned to UE2 before switching the network slice is referred to as "original line", the network slice to be switched is referred to as "switching destination line", and the network slice set in the default line column. May be referred to as the "default line". The original line is an example of the first network slice according to the present embodiment, and the switching destination line is an example of the second network slice according to the present embodiment.

The SSM cooperation unit 26 acquires the eUICC identification information, that is, the EID in the UE 2 associated with the MSISDN received from the SDWAN management unit 24. The orchestrator 20 obtains the EID corresponding to MSISDN by referring to the EID table that manages the correspondence between MSISDN and EID, for example. The EID table may be managed by the orchestrator 20 or may be managed by an external device other than the orchestrator 20. When the EID table is managed by the orchestrator 20, the EID table and the management information table 28 may be integrated and managed.

The SSM cooperation unit 26 cooperates with the SSM 30 to control the profile written in the eUICC of the UE 2 to be switched to the network slice so as to be rewritten to the profile corresponding to the line information of the switching destination line. Therefore, the SSM cooperation unit 26 notifies the SSM 30 of the line designation message including the EID for specifying the eUICC to be switched to the profile and the line information of the switching destination line.

The SSM 30 is a server that manages the profile of eSIM, and includes a profile management unit 32. The profile management unit 32 downloads the profile corresponding to the line information of the switching destination line to the eUICC corresponding to the EID included in the line designation message received from the SSM cooperation unit 26 of the orchestrator 20, and the downloaded profile. Notifies SDWAN40 of an instruction message instructing to enable and switch profiles.

The SDWAN 40 is a WAN (Wide Area Network) that can be centrally managed through software, controls lines between bases for each user according to a predetermined user policy, and controls traffic. In SDWAN40, a virtual network is constructed on a physical network by setting a router or the like according to a user policy, and secure communication between bases is realized.

The WAN control device that controls the SDWAN 40 includes an eSIM unit 42 and an IF management unit 44.

When the eSIM unit 42 receives the instruction message from the SSM 30, it transmits the profile also specified by the instruction message to the eUICC specified by the instruction message via CN10, and rewrites the profile of the UE 2 to the profile of the switching destination line.

When the profile rewriting by the eSIM unit 42 is completed, the IF management unit 44 notifies the SDWAN management unit 24 of the orchestrator 20 of the completion notification. As a result, the current network slice assigned to the UE 2 is grasped by the orchestrator 20.

It should be noted that the eSIM unit 42 and the functional unit corresponding to the IF management unit 44 may be provided in the UE 2 instead of the SDWAN 40. In this case, the SSM 30 transmits an instruction message to the UE 2 associated with the EID via the SDWAN 40. Upon receiving the instruction message, the UE 2 downloads the profile of the designated switching destination line from the SSM 30, and rewrites the current profile to the profile of the switching destination line. After that, the UE 2 notifies the SDWAN management unit 24 of the orchestrator 20 of a completion notification notifying that the profile rewriting is completed.

Next, the 5G network including CN10 will be described in detail.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a 5G network. The 5G network includes RAN (Radio Access Network) 8 and CN10.

The RAN 8 is a base station network connected to the UE 2 via radio, and is separated into a DU (Distributed Unit) 4 that provides a radio antenna function and a CU (Centralized Unit) 6 that provides a base station function. Since the CU 6 is connected to at least one DU 4 and the communication with the EU 2 is performed via the DU 4, the DU 4 may be referred to as a distributed node and the CU 6 may be referred to as an aggregate node. The 5G network may include a plurality of RAN8s.

On the other hand, CN10 is configured to include C-Plane 14 and U-Plane 16, and C-Plane 14 and U-Plane 16 are connected to CU 6 of each RAN 8.

The C-Plane 14 is a functional unit responsible for communication control of a 5G network, and establishes and disconnects communication with EU2. The U-Plane 16 is a functional unit responsible for data transfer, and transfers data under the control of the C-Plane 14. Data transfer is not limited to the 5G network, but is also performed with an external network DN18 different from the 5G network. DN18 includes, for example, the Internet and SDWAN40.

Next, an example of the configuration of a main part of the electric system in the orchestra 20 will be described.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a main part of an electric system in the orchestrator 20. The orchestrator 20 is configured using, for example, a computer 50.

The computer 50 is a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 51 that is responsible for processing each functional unit of the orchestrator 20 shown in FIG. 1, and a ROM (Read Only Memory) 52 that stores a communication control program that causes the computer 50 to function as the orchestrator 20. , A RAM (Random Access Memory) 53 used as a temporary work area of the CPU 51, a non-volatile memory 54, and an input / output interface (I / O) 55. The CPU 51, ROM 52, RAM 53, non-volatile memory 54, and I / O 55 are each connected via the bus 56.

The non-volatile memory 54 is an example of a storage device in which the stored information is maintained even when the power supplied to the non-volatile memory 54 is cut off. For example, a semiconductor memory is used, but a hard disk may be used. As in the management information table 28, information that needs to be continuously stored even when the power of the orchestrator 20 is cut off is stored in the non-volatile memory 54.

The non-volatile memory 54 does not necessarily have to be built in the computer 50, and may be, for example, a portable storage device that can be attached to and detached from the computer 50.

For example, a communication unit 57, an input unit 58, and a display unit 59 are connected to the I / O 55.

The communication unit 57 is connected to the DN18 and includes a communication protocol for performing data communication with each device or network including CN10, SSM30, and SDWAN40.

The input unit 58 is a device that receives a user's instruction and notifies the CPU 51, and for example, a button, a touch panel, a keyboard, a mouse, and the like are used. When receiving an instruction by voice, a microphone may be used as the input unit 58.

The display unit 59 is an example of a device that visually displays information processed by the CPU 51, and for example, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display, or the like is used.

The various units connected to the I / O 55 are an example, and if necessary, a unit different from the unit shown in FIG. 4, such as an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium such as paper, is used as the I / O 55. You may connect to. Further, when the orchestrator 20 is installed in an unmanned data center or the like, the input unit 58 and the display unit 59 are not always necessary. In this case, the orchestrator 20 may receive the user's instruction through the communication unit 57 and may transmit the information that the orchestrator 20 intends to display on the display unit 59 to another device through the communication unit 57.

Next, the network slice switching process in the orchestra 20 will be described.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a network slice switching process executed by the CPU 51 of the orchestrator 20 when the CN10 notifies that a failure has occurred in the network slice assigned to the UE 2.

The communication control program that defines the network slice switching process is stored in advance in, for example, the ROM 52 of the orchestrator 20. The CPU 51 of the orchestrator 20 reads the communication control program stored in the ROM 52 and executes the network slice switching process. In the description of the switching process of FIG. 5, the UE 2 to which the network slice notified of the occurrence of the failure is assigned is simply referred to as “UE 2”.

When the communication information notifies the CN10 of the occurrence of a failure in the network slice, in step S10, the CPU 51 refers to the backup presence / absence column of the management information table 28 and determines whether or not the backup line exists in the UE 2. ..

Since the network slice cannot be switched unless the backup line exists in the UE 2, the network slice switching process shown in FIG. 5 is terminated, and the process waits until the failure of the network slice assigned to the UE 2 is recovered.

On the other hand, if the UE 2 has a backup line, the process proceeds to step S20.

In step S20, the CPU 51 refers to the management information table 28 and selects a switching destination line newly assigned to the UE 2. Specifically, the CPU 51 refers to the default line column of the management information table 28, and when the default line is set in the default line column and the occurrence of a failure is not notified to the default line. , Select the default line as the switching destination line.

If the default line is not set for UE2, or if the default line is notified of the occurrence of a failure, the CPU 51 will encounter a failure from the network slices for which line information is set in the contract line column. Select any one of the unnotified network slices as the switching destination line. When there are multiple candidates for the switching destination line, even if the switching destination line is selected according to the selection criteria specified in advance by the user, for example, the network slice with the lowest communication cost is selected from the candidates for the switching destination line. good.

In step S30, the CPU 51 transmits to the SSM 30 a line designation message including the EID of the EU2 to be switched to the profile and the line information of the switching destination line selected in step S20. As described above, the instruction message instructing the profile switching is notified from the SSM 30 to the SDWAN 40 as described above, the profile of the switching destination line is written in the eUICC of EU2, and the network slice is switched.

The CPU 51 may specify the communication mode of the instruction message in the line designation message so that the instruction message instructing the profile switching is notified to the UE 2 in preference to other messages. For example, in CN10, since the telegram transmitted by using the short message service (SMS) is transmitted to the UE 2 in preference to the telegram transmitted by using another communication mode, the CPU 51 instructs. It may be specified by the line designation telegram so that the telegram is transmitted by SMS. Further, the CPU 51 may be specified by the line designated message so that the designated message is transmitted by HTTPS (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure), which is an example of encrypted communication. Since SSL (Secure Socket Layer) is used when the communication mode of the designated message is HTTPS, the security performance related to communication is improved as compared with the case where HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) is used as the communication mode.

On the other hand, FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the network slice switching process executed by the CPU 51 of the orchestrator 20 when the network slice assigned to the UE 2 before the network slice switching, that is, the original line is restored. Is. In the description of the switching process of FIG. 6, the UE 2 to which the network slice restored before the switching is assigned is simply referred to as “UE 2”.

In step S100, the CPU 51 refers to the backup presence / absence column of the management information table 28, and determines whether or not the backup line exists in the UE 2.

If the backup line does not exist in the UE 2, the network slice switching process has not been performed in the first place, so the network slice switching process shown in FIG. 6 is terminated. That is, with the recovery of the network slice, the recovered network slice is assigned to the UE 2.

On the other hand, if the UE 2 has a backup line, the process proceeds to step S110.

In step S110, the CPU 51 refers to the default line column of the management information table 28, and determines whether or not the default line is set in the default line column of the UE 2. If a default line is set in the default line field of the UE 2, the process proceeds to step S120.

In step S120, the CPU 51 determines whether or not the CN10 has notified the default line of the UE 2 that a failure has occurred. If the occurrence of the failure is not notified to the default line of the UE 2, the process proceeds to step S130.

In step S130, the CPU 51 determines whether or not the current network slice assigned to the UE 2 is the default line of the UE 2. If the current network slice assigned to the UE 2 is the default line of the UE 2, the switching process shown in FIG. 6 is terminated. That is, when the network slice assigned to the UE 2 is switched to the default line in the switching process of FIG. 5 due to the occurrence of the failure of the original line, the default line is continuously assigned to the UE 2 even if the original line is restored.

On the other hand, if it is determined in the determination process of step S130 that the current network slice assigned to UE2 is not the default line of UE2, the process proceeds to step S140.

In step S140, the CPU 51 sets the switching destination line of the UE 2 to the default line of the UE 2.

In step S150, the CPU 51 transmits a line designation message including the EID of the EU2 to be profile switching and the line information of the default line to the SSM 30, and ends the switching process of FIG.

That is, when the default line is set in the UE 2 and the default line has not failed, the CPU 51 controls the UE 2 so that the default line is preferentially assigned.

On the other hand, when it is determined in the determination process of step S110 that the default line is not set in the default line column of UE2, and in the determination process of step S120, CN10 notifies the default line of UE2 that a failure has occurred. If it is determined that this has been done, the process proceeds to step S160.

In this case, the default line cannot be assigned to UE2. Therefore, in step S160, the CPU 51 sets the switching destination line of the UE 2 to the original line and proceeds to step S150. That is, the CPU 51 returns the network slice assigned to the UE 2 to the original line assigned to the UE 2 before the switching of the network slice, in accordance with the restoration of the network slice assigned to the UE 2 before the switching of the network slice.

The CPU 51 does not necessarily have to return the network slice assigned to the UE 2 to the original line even if the restoration of the original line is notified. For example, when there are a plurality of network slices that can be used by the UE 2, any one of the contracted network slices that has not been notified of the occurrence of a failure may be assigned to the UE 2. In this case, the CPU 51 may allocate the network slice that is most beneficial to the user based on the evaluation items such as the communication cost and the quality of the communication among the network slices for which the occurrence of the failure has not been notified. Whether the communication quality is good or bad can be determined by, for example, the radio wave strength of the radio wave connected to the UE 2. The CPU 51 may acquire the radio wave strength of the radio wave connected to the UE 2 through the external cooperation unit 12 of the CN10.

Further, the current network slice allocation may be maintained so that the newly allocated current network slice can be continuously assigned to the UE 2 after the network slice is switched.

When switching the network slice assigned to the UE 2 in the network slice switching process shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the network slice may be switched between different carriers or the network slice may be switched within the same carrier.

Further, a plurality of priority network slices may be set for each UE 2 in the default line column of the management information table 28. In this case, the priority of the priority network slice is set such as "first priority network slice" and "second priority network slice" for each network slice. Then, it is determined whether or not the priority network slice with the highest priority can be assigned to the UE 2, and the priority network slice with the highest priority among the assignable priority network slices is assigned to the UE 2. May be good.

Although the present invention has been described above using the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the embodiments. Various changes or improvements can be made to the embodiments without departing from the gist of the present invention, and the modified or improved embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. For example, the order of processing may be changed without departing from the gist of the present invention.

Further, in the embodiment, a mode in which the network slice switching process is realized by software has been described as an example, but the process equivalent to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 can be performed by, for example, ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or FPGA. It may be implemented in (Field Programmable Gate Array) or PLD (Programmable Logic Device) and processed by hardware. In this case, the processing speed can be increased as compared with the case where the network slice switching process is realized by software.

In this way, the CPU 51 of the orchestrator 20 may be replaced with a dedicated processor specialized for a specific process such as an ASIC, FPGA, PLD, GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), and FPU (Floating Point Unit).

The processing of the orchestrator 20 according to the embodiment may be realized by one CPU 51 or may be realized by a plurality of CPUs 51. Further, the processing of the orchestrator 20 according to the embodiment may be realized by the cooperation of processors existing at physically separated positions.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the mode in which the communication control program is installed in the ROM 52 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. The communication control program according to the embodiment can also be provided in a form recorded on a storage medium readable by the computer 50. For example, the communication control program may be provided in the form of being recorded on an optical disk such as a CD (Compact Disc) -ROM or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) -ROM. Further, the communication control program according to the embodiment may be provided in a form of being recorded in a portable semiconductor memory such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory or a memory card.

Further, the orchestrator 20 may acquire a communication control program from an external device through the DN 18.

1 Communication control system, 2 UE, 4 DU, 6 CU, 8 RAN, 10 CN, 12 External linkage unit, 14 C-Plane, 16 U-Plane, 18 DN, 20 Orchestrator, 22 Monitoring API linkage unit, 24 SDWAN Management unit, 26 SSM linkage unit, 28 management information table, 30 SSM, 32 profile management unit, 40 SDWAN, 42 eSIM unit, 44 IF management unit, 50 computer, 51 CPU, 52 ROM, 53 RAM, 54 non-volatile memory, 55 I / O, 56 buses, 57 communication units, 58 input units, 59 display units

Claims (12)

Equipped with a processor
The processor
Of the wireless communication lines provided by each telecommunications carrier, communication information representing the connection information of the first network slice from the control device that controls the first network slice assigned as the connection destination of the terminal used by the user. To get,
When the communication information notifies that the communication quality of the first network slice is deteriorated, a communication control device that controls switching the network slice so that a second network slice different from the first network slice is assigned to the terminal. .. The communication control according to claim 1, wherein the processor controls to switch the network slice assigned to the terminal by switching the profile of the terminal in cooperation with the subscription manager that manages the profile of eSIM assigned to the terminal. Device. The processor refers to management information that manages information about each network slice assigned to the terminal, and the priority network slice preferentially assigned to the terminal is set in the management information, and the priority network slice in the priority network slice. The second aspect of claim 2, wherein the profile of the terminal is switched in cooperation with the subscription manager so that the network slice assigned to the terminal becomes the priority network slice if the occurrence of the communication failure with the terminal is not notified. Communication control device. When the priority network slice for the terminal is not set in the management information, the processor sends the terminal to the terminal even when the communication information notifies the restoration of the communication quality of the first network slice. The communication control device according to claim 3, which maintains the current network slice allocation. When the communication information notifies the terminal that the communication quality of the first network slice is restored, the processor cooperates with the subscription manager to allocate the first network slice to the terminal again. The communication control device according to claim 2, wherein the profile is switched. Any of claims 2 to 5, wherein the processor specifies a communication mode of the instruction message so that the instruction message instructing the switching of the profile of the terminal is notified to the terminal in preference to other messages. The communication control device according to item 1. The communication control device according to claim 6, wherein the processor specifies short message service or HTTPS as the communication form of the instruction message. One of claims 1 to 7, wherein the processor controls to switch the network slice assigned to the terminal so that the first network slice and the second network slice become network slices of different communication carriers. The communication control device described in the section. One of claims 1 to 7, wherein the processor controls to switch the network slice assigned to the terminal so that the first network slice and the second network slice become the network slice of the same communication carrier. The communication control device described in the section. The communication control according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the processor specifies the network slice to be connected to the terminal by using the identification information assigned to each telecommunications carrier to identify each network slice. Device. On the computer
Of the wireless communication lines provided by each telecommunications carrier, communication information representing the connection information of the first network slice from the control device that controls the first network slice assigned as the connection destination of the terminal used by the user. To get,
When the communication information notifies the deterioration of the communication quality of the first network slice, the communication control for executing the control of switching the network slice so that the second network slice different from the first network slice is assigned to the terminal. program. Communication information representing the connection information of the first network slice from the control device that controls the first network slice assigned as the connection destination of the terminal used by the user among the wireless communication lines provided by each communication carrier. When the communication information notifies the terminal that the communication quality of the first network slice has deteriorated, the control for switching the network slice so that the second network slice different from the first network slice is assigned to the terminal is controlled. Communication control device to perform and
Following the control of the subscription manager that received the instruction message instructing the switching of the network slice from the communication control device through the wide area line where the communication is controlled based on the policy defined by the software, the instruction message is used as the switching target. A WAN control device that switches the profile of the terminal instructed, and
Communication control system including.

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